Born into slavery in 1849, Dred Wimberly served in the State House of Representatives in 1879 and 1887 and in the State Senate in 1889. His family lived on the Battle plantation and he named one of his sons Kemp for Kemp Plummer Battle, Rocky Mount native and president of the University of North Carolina. During his Senate term the elder Wimberly voted for the bill to establish the land grant college now known as North Carolina State University. Wimberly’s association with the Battle family lent some credence to a spurious tradition that he supported UNC in a legislative vote to fund the school in 1881. However, he was not in office at that time.

Wimberly’s legislative record does indicate other support for education as well as votes to support the rebuilding of railroads. He was widely respected, among both colleagues and constituents, for his humility, sincerity, and generosity. A Republican, Wimberly served as a delegate to the party’s national convention in 1900 where William McKinley was renominated for president. From 1900 to 1902 he served as a janitor in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1902 he returned to live in Rocky Mount with his wife and eighteen children. He died in 1937 at age eighty-eight.